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Monthly Archives: September 2015

1929 – THE “ROARING TWENTIES”
This period in U.S. history was considered to be from 1920 to October 28, 1929. The Federal Reserve Board reduced reserve requirements for banks –meaning they could create out of thin air as debt many more times the amount of money they possessed in assets. This easing of monetary policy led to wide and wild speculation in stocks and investments. The result was a massive stock market crash.

SEPTEMBER 29

1897 – BIRTH OF GRAHAM TOWERS, GOVERNOR OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF CANADA, 1934-1955
In testimony in 1939 before a Standing Committee on Banking and Commerce of the Canadian Parliament when asked whether banks create money, he stated: “That is right. That is what they are for… That is the Banking business, just in the same way that a steel plant makes steel…The manufacturing process consists of making a pen-and-ink or typewriter entry on a card in a book. That is all…Each and every time a bank makes a loan (or purchases securities), new bank credit is created — new deposits — brand new money…As loans are debts, then under the present system all money is debt.”

1993 – LOBBY DAY ON MONETARY REFORM
Over 1000 people traveled to Washington D.C. and hand delivered petitions to the U.S. Congress calling for monetary reform. One of the authors of the measure was Byron Dale. Concerning debt, he stated: “Nobody can borrow themselves out of debt no more than you can drink yourself sober.”

2008 – BANK BAILOUT BILL FAILS IN CONGRESS
The financial industry imploded in 2007 and 2008. The causes were primarily banking corporations engaging in incredibly risky loans (i.e. subprime mortgages) and too much leverage (loaning out many more times than actual assets – in some cases 30 times – called “fractional reserve” lending). The response was a call to bail out the largest financial corporations that had the greatest amount of toxic assets (called “zombie” banks). Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson, former head of Goldman Sachs financial corporation, on behalf of the Bush administration introduced a 3 page vague proposal asking for $700 billion to bail out the big banks. The public was outraged at what they rightly thought was a blank check bailout. Calls to Congress numbered more than 10:1 against the bill. Congress voted the act down.

2008 – U.S. STOCK MARKET CRASH
The Dow Jones plummeted by 778 points, its largest one-day drop in the history of the New York Stock Exchange. The short-term cause of the crash was the congressional vote against the black check bank bailout. More fundamentally, it was result of the bursting of a massive housing “bubble” caused by financial institutions engaged in highly risky mortgages and other bizarre risky investments and fractional reserve lending. The elimination on controls of the financial industry a decade earlier opened the door, but was not the root cause, of the crash that has come to be known as the Great Recession. The root cause of the 2008 crash, similar to all other bursts of financial bubbles before it, was the ability of banks to issue money out of thin air as debt (loans) many times in excess of their assets. The smaller the asset base, the greater the risk that banks will go bankrupt when their loans cannot be repaid or other investments go bad.

SEPTEMBER 30

1941 – STATEMENT BY MARINER ECCLES, CHAIR OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE
Statement before the House Committee on Banking and Currency:
“That is what our money system is. If there were no debts in our money system, there wouldn’t be any money.”

OCTOBER 1

1525 – FIRST WESTERNER, PORTUGESE EXPLORER DIOGA DE ROCHA, ARRIVES IN YAP
The people on the island of Yap in the Carolina Islands have for centuries used large, solid stone wheels as currency. The modern “civilized” world uses in a similar way gold or silver mined from the ground. The Yap money supply is the most stable in the world. It is controlled by the people and not by banking corporations.

1936 – DEATH OF LOUIS MCFADDEN (R- PA), CHAIRMAN OF THE US HOUSE BANKING AND CURRENCY COMMITTEE
“We have in this country one of the most corrupt institutions the world has ever known. I refer to the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Banks. Some people think the Federal Reserve Banks are U.S. government institutions. They are private credit monopolies; domestic swindlers, rich and predatory money lenders which prey upon the people the United States for the benefit of themselves and their foreign customers…The truth is the Federal Reserve Board has usurped the Government of the United States by the arrogant credit monopoly which operates the Federal Reserve Board.”

2009 – RELEASE OF THE FILM, “THE SECRET OF OZ”
“What’s going on with the world’s economy? Foreclosures are everywhere, unemployment is skyrocketing – and this may only be the beginning. Could it be that solutions to the world’s economic problems could have been embedded in the most beloved children’s story of all time, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”? The yellow brick road (the gold standard), the emerald city of Oz (greenback money), even Dorothy’s silver slippers (changed to ruby slippers for the movie version) were powerful symbols of author L. Frank Baum’s belief that the people – not the big banks — should control the quantity of a nation’s money.” Written by Bill Still.

2014 – NATIONAL DAY IN CHINA
The day commemorates the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 2014. The first paper money appeared in China about 806 AD.

OCTOBER 2

1869 – BIRTH OF MOHANDAS GANDHI
‘Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.” One of his “7 Deadly Sins” was “wealth without work.” He also said “[a] small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.”

2008 – US REPRESENTATIVE BRAD SHERMAN ON HOUSE FLOOR CONCERNING BANK BAILOUT LEGISLATION
“But why are we bailing out the Bank of China? Why are we bailing out the Saudi royal family?… The only way they can pass this bill is by creating and by sustaining a panic atmosphere… A few Members were even told that there would be martial law in America if we voted “no.”

2014 – MORTGAGE-REFINANCE APPLICATION OF FORMER FEDERAL CHAIRMAN BEN BERNANKE IS DENIED
More money injected into the banking sector by the Federal Reserve was to make more money available for loans — especially to moderate-income people. Yet, banks have been hesitant to increase the pool of housing loans — funneling funds to Wall Streets and speculative investments rather than to homeowners…including former Fed honcho Ben Bernanke!

OCTOBER 3

2008 – US CONGRESS APPROVES $700 BILLION BAILOUT FOR BANKS
Congress passes and President Bush signs into law the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-343), which establishes the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). US taxpayers bailed out the largest US banks since they were considered “too big to fail.” Main Street businesses and side street homeowners facing foreclosures (due in large part to the speculative practices of major financial institutions) received no such support. Many of these major banks were major political campaign contributors/investors in the 2008 political campaign. The final bailout legislation was a revised and slightly better version of an original bill proposed by Sec. of Treasury Hank Paulson that was literally only a few pages in length. Massive public anger resulted in a flood of calls, emails and visits to congressional offices. Congress defeated the original proposal.

OCTOBER 4

1923 – BIRTH OF CHARLTON HESTON, ACTOR
“You shall not charge interest to your countrymen…” A quote from Moses from the Bible, [Deuteronomy 23: 19-20]. Moses was born sometime in 1527 BC. Since the exact date is unknown, why not use the birth date of the guy who played him in films!

———————–

Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt? Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice. This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini, Deb Jose and Greg Coleridge helped in its development. Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, email monetarycalendar@yahoo.com

1950 –FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE LIMIT RAISED
The popular FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) limit is raised by Congress to $10,000. The FDIC insures commercial bank deposits against loss due to bankruptcy or default. It was created following the Great Depression when depositors lost their savings when banks collapsed due to speculative investments and/or depositor fears, which led to a run on banks.

2008 – FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD APPROVES APPLICATIONS OF INVESTMENT BANKING CORPORATIONS GOLDMAN SACHS AND MORGAN STANLEY TO BECOME BANK HOLDING COMPANIES
Prior to the Great Depression, banking corporations could engage in both “commercial” (traditional loans to individuals and businesses) and “investment” (stock and other forms of speculative activities) activities. Overzealous speculation by banks using depositors’ money was one of the causes of the Depression. This led to the 1933 Glass Steagall Act, separating commercial from investment activities. This law was overturned in 1999, leading to a breach in the “firewall” keeping the two types of financial activities separate. This grant application allowed two of the largest investment banks on the planet to begin engaging in commercial banking activities.

2011 – NATIONAL EMERGENCY EMPLOYMENT DEFENSE (NEED) ACT REINTRODUCED IN CONGRESS BY US REPRESENTATIVE DENNIS KUCINICH (HR 2990)
The bill would shift the private Federal Reserve System to the US Treasury Department, end fractional reserve lending by banking corporations (which permits them to lend out many more times the amount of their deposits) and authorizes the US government (in accordance with Art 1, Sec 8 of the US Constitution) to print US money to repair our nation’s physical and human infrastructure. Money issued in this way by the US government is debt-free and inflation-free vs the financial industry which currently issues the vast majority of our nation’s money as debt. No longer would banking corporations have the license to create our nation’s money. That would become a public function.

2014 – FEAST OF ST. MATTHEW
Matthew 6:12, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” Born in Palestine sometime in the 1st century, St. Matthew was one of Jesus’s 12 apostles and also one of the four Evangelists, according to the Bible. Matthew authored the first Gospel of the Bible’s New Testament, now known as the Gospel of Matthew. Prior to preaching, he worked as a tax collector in Capernaum. Matthew is the patron saint of tax collectors and accountants. The Feast of St. Matthew is annually celebrated on September 21.

SEPTEMBER 22

1956 — DEATH OF FREDERICK SODDY, NOBEL LAUREATE
“It was recognized in Athens and Sparta…centuries before the birth of Christ that one of the most vital prerogatives of the State was the right to issue money.”
On money: “To allow it to become a source of revenue to private issuers is to create first, a secret and illicit arm of the government and last, a rival power strong enough ultimately to overthrow all other forms of government.”

1973 – HENRY KISSINGER SWORN IN AS 56TH US SECRETARY OF STATE
William Engdahl asserts in his introduction to Gods of Money that then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, a protégé of the powerful Rockefeller corporate empire, stated: “If you control the oil, you control entire nations; if you control the food, you control the people; if you control the money, you control the entire world.”

SEPTEMBER 23

1998 – TALK BY MICHAEL CHOSSUDOVSKY, PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS
“Monetary policy is in the hands of private creditors who have the ability to freeze state budgets, paralyze the payments process, thwart the regular disbursement of wages to millions of workers and precipitate the collapse of production and social programs.”

SEPTEMBER 24

1976 – DEATH OF PAUL DOUGLAS, ECONOMIST, US SENATOR, QUAKER
A prominent University of Chicago economist, Douglas was one of several economists who developed A Program for Monetary Reform in 1939. It was sent to President Roosevelt as a proposal to end the Great Depression. More than 230 economists from 150 universities approved it without reservations while an additional 40 supported it with some reservations.
In assessing the problem of the day, the PMR states, “If the purpose of money and credit were to discourage the exchange of goods and services, to destroy periodically the wealth produced, to frustrate and trip those who work and save, our present monetary system would seem a most effective instrument to that end.” It also stated monetary systems based on a gold standard “has had…disastrous results all over the world.”
The PMR called for government creation and maintenance in the quantity of money. “Our own monetary policy should…be directed toward avoiding inflation as well as deflation, and in attaining and maintaining as nearly as possible, full production and employment.” The plan also called for eliminating fractional reserve lending – the process of banks loaning multiple the times the amount of money in their possession. Back in the 1930’s the reserved requirement was 5:1. Today it’s 9:1. Some of the major banks involved in the economic collapse of 2007 had ignored this law and were loaning out 50 times their reserves. The PMR called for a 100% reserve requirement – banks could only lend the amount of money they possessed.
The document goes on, “In early times the creation of money was the sole privilege of the kings or other sovereigns – namely the sovereign people, acting through their Government. This principle is firmly anchored in our Constitution and it is a perversion to transfer the privilege to private parties to use in their own real or presumed interest. The founders of the Republic did not expect the banks to create the money they lend.
Their plan to reduce the national debt was simply to have the government purchase government bonds with new US debt-free money.
The PMR was the outgrowth of an earlier similar proposal from many of the same economists, The Chicago Plan, which was introduced as federal legislation in 1934, as a means to end the Great Depression The Chicago Plan called for the issuance of debt-free U.S. money and the end of banks lending less that their assets as means to reduce public and private debt, eliminate bank runs, and gain control over money creation.
[NOTE: An economic/mathematical analysis of The Chicago Plan was published 2 years ago. “The Chicago Plan Revisited” by Jaromir Benes and Michael Kumhoff, two International Monetary Fund economists,. It affirms virtually every assertion by its advocates in the 1930’s. The paper is at http://www.stanford.edu/~kumhof/chicago-imfwp.pdf ]

SEPTEMBER 25

1913 – STATEMENT OF T. CUSHING DANIEL, US LEADING MONETARY SCHOLAR BEFORE SENATE BANKING AND CURRENCY COMMITTEE
“[I]t should be borned in mind that the value of the American dollar does not depend upon bankers or gold, but upon the National wealth of the United States created by the people.”

SEPTEMBER 26

1939 – DEATH OF ALFRED OWEN CROSIER, PROMINENT OHIO ATTORNEY AND AUTHOR
Crosier wrote widely against the power and influence held by Wall Street Bankers. Crozier wrote eight books, including The Magnet and U.S. Money vs. Corporation Currency, which warned the country of the replacement of the country’s currency by notes printed by private banking corporations. A wonderful display of political cartoons from his book, U.S. Money vs. Corporations Currency is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4qQ59w4ML4

1942 – STATEMENT OF REVERENT WILLIAM TEMPLE, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, CALLING FOR THE NATIONALIZATION OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND
“The private issue of new credit should be regarded in the modern world in just the same way in which the private minting of money was regarded in earlier times. The banks should be limited in their lending power to the amount deposited by their clients, while the issue of newer credit should be the function of public authority. This is not in any way to censure the banks or bankers…But the system has become anomalous, and, so often happens when anomaly has persisted through a long period of time, the result is to make into the master what ought to be the servant.”
Temple’s advocacy for banks being “limited in their lending power to the amount deposited by their clients” was for the ending of “fractional reserve banking” – the common practice of financial institutions providing loans in amounts many times in excess of the actual amount held by them. This feature is one of the major components of HR 2990, The National Emergency Employment Defense Act.

SEPTEMBER 27

2014 – ARTICLE, “‘NATIONAL THE FED,’ SAYS MONETARY EXPERT'” BY KEITH JOHNSON
“Few would deny that predatory bankers have been feeding off the blood and treasure of the American people for far too long. So what’s being done about it? Though many have stepped forward proposing ways to break free from this century-old system of debt slavery, perhaps no one has worked harder or come closer to an infallible escape plan than Stephen Zarlenga of the American Monetary Institute (AMI). “Congress already had the solution hand delivered to them a few years ago,” he replied. “Our work now is getting them to put it into action…
“According to Zarlenga, the solution he has helped champion can be found in the text of the National Emergency Employment Defense Act (NEED), a bill that was introduced by former Representative Dennis John Kucinich (D-Ohio) in 2011.
“’All the components for monetary reform can be found in that bill,’ Zarlenga said. ‘It essentially accomplishes three things: nationalizes the Federal Reserve, prohibits banks from deciding what we use for money and returns that power to Congress, which creates new U.S. money and spends it into circulation for the common good: infrastructure, health care and education.'”http://americanfreepress.net/?p=19811#sthash.Axw3YByG.dpuf

———————–

Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt? Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice. This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini, Deb Jose and Greg Coleridge helped in its development. Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, email monetarycalendar@yahoo.com

1950 –FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE LIMIT RAISED
The popular FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) limit is raised by Congress to $10,000. The FDIC insures commercial bank deposits against loss due to bankruptcy or default. It was created following the Great Depression when depositors lost their savings when banks collapsed due to speculative investments and/or depositor fears, which led to a run on banks.

2008 – FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD APPROVES APPLICATIONS OF INVESTMENT BANKING CORPORATIONS GOLDMAN SACHS AND MORGAN STANLEY TO BECOME BANK HOLDING COMPANIES
Prior to the Great Depression, banking corporations could engage in both “commercial” (traditional loans to individuals and businesses) and “investment” (stock and other forms of speculative activities) activities. Overzealous speculation by banks using depositors’ money was one of the causes of the Depression. This led to the 1933 Glass Steagall Act, separating commercial from investment activities. This law was overturned in 1999, leading to a breach in the “firewall” keeping the two types of financial activities separate. This grant application allowed two of the largest investment banks on the planet to begin engaging in commercial banking activities.

2011 – NATIONAL EMERGENCY EMPLOYMENT DEFENSE (NEED) ACT REINTRODUCED IN CONGRESS BY US REPRESENTATIVE DENNIS KUCINICH (HR 2990)
The bill would shift the private Federal Reserve System to the US Treasury Department, end fractional reserve lending by banking corporations (which permits them to lend out many more times the amount of their deposits) and authorizes the US government (in accordance with Art 1, Sec 8 of the US Constitution) to print US money to repair our nation’s physical and human infrastructure. Money issued in this way by the US government is debt-free and inflation-free vs the financial industry which currently issues the vast majority of our nation’s money as debt. No longer would banking corporations have the license to create our nation’s money. That would become a public function.

2014 – FEAST OF ST. MATTHEW
Matthew 6:12, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” Born in Palestine sometime in the 1st century, St. Matthew was one of Jesus’s 12 apostles and also one of the four Evangelists, according to the Bible. Matthew authored the first Gospel of the Bible’s New Testament, now known as the Gospel of Matthew. Prior to preaching, he worked as a tax collector in Capernaum. Matthew is the patron saint of tax collectors and accountants. The Feast of St. Matthew is annually celebrated on September 21.

SEPTEMBER 22

1956 — DEATH OF FREDERICK SODDY, NOBEL LAUREATE
“It was recognized in Athens and Sparta…centuries before the birth of Christ that one of the most vital prerogatives of the State was the right to issue money.”
On money: “To allow it to become a source of revenue to private issuers is to create first, a secret and illicit arm of the government and last, a rival power strong enough ultimately to overthrow all other forms of government.”

1973 – HENRY KISSINGER SWORN IN AS 56TH US SECRETARY OF STATE
William Engdahl asserts in his introduction to Gods of Money that then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, a protégé of the powerful Rockefeller corporate empire, stated: “If you control the oil, you control entire nations; if you control the food, you control the people; if you control the money, you control the entire world.”

SEPTEMBER 23

1998 – TALK BY MICHAEL CHOSSUDOVSKY, PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS
“Monetary policy is in the hands of private creditors who have the ability to freeze state budgets, paralyze the payments process, thwart the regular disbursement of wages to millions of workers and precipitate the collapse of production and social programs.”

SEPTEMBER 24

1976 – DEATH OF PAUL DOUGLAS, ECONOMIST, US SENATOR, QUAKER
A prominent University of Chicago economist, Douglas was one of several economists who developed A Program for Monetary Reform in 1939. It was sent to President Roosevelt as a proposal to end the Great Depression. More than 230 economists from 150 universities approved it without reservations while an additional 40 supported it with some reservations.
In assessing the problem of the day, the PMR states, “If the purpose of money and credit were to discourage the exchange of goods and services, to destroy periodically the wealth produced, to frustrate and trip those who work and save, our present monetary system would seem a most effective instrument to that end.” It also stated monetary systems based on a gold standard “has had…disastrous results all over the world.”
The PMR called for government creation and maintenance in the quantity of money. “Our own monetary policy should…be directed toward avoiding inflation as well as deflation, and in attaining and maintaining as nearly as possible, full production and employment.” The plan also called for eliminating fractional reserve lending – the process of banks loaning multiple the times the amount of money in their possession. Back in the 1930’s the reserved requirement was 5:1. Today it’s 9:1. Some of the major banks involved in the economic collapse of 2007 had ignored this law and were loaning out 50 times their reserves. The PMR called for a 100% reserve requirement – banks could only lend the amount of money they possessed.
The document goes on, “In early times the creation of money was the sole privilege of the kings or other sovereigns – namely the sovereign people, acting through their Government. This principle is firmly anchored in our Constitution and it is a perversion to transfer the privilege to private parties to use in their own real or presumed interest. The founders of the Republic did not expect the banks to create the money they lend.
Their plan to reduce the national debt was simply to have the government purchase government bonds with new US debt-free money.
The PMR was the outgrowth of an earlier similar proposal from many of the same economists, The Chicago Plan, which was introduced as federal legislation in 1934, as a means to end the Great Depression The Chicago Plan called for the issuance of debt-free U.S. money and the end of banks lending less that their assets as means to reduce public and private debt, eliminate bank runs, and gain control over money creation.
[NOTE: A new economic/mathematical analysis of The Chicago Plan has just been published The Chicago Plan Revisited is a working paper by two International Monetary Fund economists, Jaromir Benes and Michael Kumhoff. It affirms virtually every assertion by its advocates in the 1930’s. The paper is at http://www.stanford.edu/~kumhof/chicago-imfwp.pdf ]

SEPTEMBER 25

1913 – STATEMENT OF T. CUSHING DANIEL, US LEADING MONETARY SCHOLAR BEFORE SENATE BANKING AND CURRENCY COMMITTEE
“[I]t should be borned in mind that the value of the American dollar does not depend upon bankers or gold, but upon the National wealth of the United States created by the people.”

SEPTEMBER 26

1939 – DEATH OF ALFRED OWEN CROSIER, PROMINENT OHIO ATTORNEY AND AUTHOR
Crosier wrote widely against the power and influence held by Wall Street Bankers. Crozier wrote eight books, including The Magnet and U.S. Money vs. Corporation Currency, which warned the country of the replacement of the country’s currency by notes printed by private banking corporations. A wonderful display of political cartoons from his book, U.S. Money vs. Corporations Currency is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4qQ59w4ML4

1942 – STATEMENT OF REVERENT WILLIAM TEMPLE, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, CALLING FOR THE NATIONALIZATION OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND
“The private issue of new credit should be regarded in the modern world in just the same way in which the private minting of money was regarded in earlier times. The banks should be limited in their lending power to the amount deposited by their clients, while the issue of newer credit should be the function of public authority. This is not in any way to censure the banks or bankers…But the system has become anomalous, and, so often happens when anomaly has persisted through a long period of time, the result is to make into the master what ought to be the servant.”
Temple’s advocacy for banks being “limited in their lending power to the amount deposited by their clients” was for the ending of “fractional reserve banking” – the common practice of financial institutions providing loans in amounts many times in excess of the actual amount held by them. This feature is one of the major components of HR 2990, The National Emergency Employment Defense Act.

SEPTEMBER 27

2014 – ARTICLE, “‘NATIONAL THE FED,’ SAYS MONETARY EXPERT'” BY KEITH JOHNSON
“Few would deny that predatory bankers have been feeding off the blood and treasure of the American people for far too long. So what’s being done about it? Though many have stepped forward proposing ways to break free from this century-old system of debt slavery, perhaps no one has worked harder or come closer to an infallible escape plan than Stephen Zarlenga of the American Monetary Institute (AMI). “Congress already had the solution hand delivered to them a few years ago,” he replied. “Our work now is getting them to put it into action…
“According to Zarlenga, the solution he has helped champion can be found in the text of the National Emergency Employment Defense Act (NEED), a bill that was introduced by former Representative Dennis John Kucinich (D-Ohio) in 2011.
“’All the components for monetary reform can be found in that bill,’ Zarlenga said. ‘It essentially accomplishes three things: nationalizes the Federal Reserve, prohibits banks from deciding what we use for money and returns that power to Congress, which creates new U.S. money and spends it into circulation for the common good: infrastructure, health care and education.'”http://americanfreepress.net/?p=19811#sthash.Axw3YByG.dpuf

———————–

Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt? Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice. This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini, Deb Jose and Greg Coleridge helped in its development. Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, email monetarycalendar@yahoo.com

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled 7-0 on Thursday for the citizens of Kent who gathered signatures in conformity with state law rather than the City of Kent charter to place Move to Amend language on the ballot this November. The victory is not only for Kent citizens, but for all citizens of all communities in the state who seek to create laws via citizen initiatives. The task will be much more citizen-friendly with campaigns only needing 10% of those who voted in the last municipal campaign rather than 10% of all registered voters.
Congratulation to the Kent Move to Amend activists! Now on to the campaign!
Corporations are NOT people! Money is NOT speech!
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We won!. This case establishes that the Ohio Constitution trumps City Charters that set their own methods for municipal charter changes–usually in a way that makes it very difficult for citizens to get charter amendments on the ballot. The City of Kent wanted to base the signature requirement on the numbers of registered voters instead of the number of voters in the last municipal general election. The City of Akron has similar language. Activists have been concerned about this tough provision which increases the number of signatures needed by 300%. The Ohio Municipal league and the City of Kent filed briefs to overturn the Court’s prior rulings and block grassroots efforts to bring issues to the public for a vote. The Court ignored their flawed reasoning and vindicated the basic democratic principals in this decision. City’s must look to Ohio’s constitution and follow its rules regarding initiative petition drives to change charter language. The City of Kent’s illegal behavior has been stopped. Contact Attorney Warner Mendenhall @ 330.328.1026

2012 – STATEMENT BY DONALD TRUMP, US BUSINESSMAN AND CURRENT REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, ON THE FEDERAL RESERVE’S QUANTITATIVE EASING PROGRAM
“People like me will benefit from this.”

SEPTEMBER 15

2008 – LEHMAN BROTHER INC FILES FOR CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY PROTECTIONS
Lehman was heavily involved in the subprime housing market. They borrowed substantially against their assets (leveraged) — 30 times the amount of their actual equities. Investment banks like Lehman were not under the same leverage limits as commercial banks, which invited greater risks. The $600 billion filing remains the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.

SEPTEMBER 16

2003 – STATEMENT MADE ON THIS DAY BY HENRY C.K. LIU, PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS
The current monetary system is a cruel hoax. There is virtually no “real” money in the system, only debts. Except for coins, which are issued by the government and make up only about one-thousandth of the money supply, the entire U.S. money supply now consists of debt to private banks, for money they created with accounting entries on their books.

2008 – FEDERAL RESERVE BAILS OUT AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP (AIG)
AIG was the largest insurance corporation, which had speculated in risky home mortgages. The Fed issued AIG $85 billion in credit in September 2008 to meet their financial obligations

SEPTEMBER 17

1787 – CONSTITUTION DAY
“The Congress shall have power to…coin money [and] regulate the power thereof” Section 8, US Constitution.” “Coin” is a verb used in this way, representing the power to issue money. We the People possess the constitutional authority to issue and circulate our own money. Instead, we have permitted banking corporations to “privatize” the creation of money via loans (debt). This is both economic and political madness.

SEPTEMBER 18

1913 – US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PASSES FEDERAL RESERVE ACT
The effort to create a privately controlled (but promoted as publicly controlled and accountable) central bank moved one step closer to reality with passage by the House. Debate now turned to the Senate.

SEPTEMBER 19

1812 – DEATH OF MAYER AMSCHEL ROTHSCHILD, FOUNDER OF THE FAMILY FINANCIAL DYNASTY
An attributed quote: “Permit me to issue and control the money of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.”

1881 — DEATH OF PRESIDENT JAMES GARFIELD (R, OHIO)
“Whosoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce…and when you realize that the entire system is very easily controlled, one way or another, by a few powerful men at the top, you will not have to be told how periods of inflation and depression originate.” A few weeks after making this statement, Garfield was shot. He died two months later.

2008 – US TREASURY SUBMITS DRAFT LEGISLATION TO CONGRESS FOR AUTHORITY TO “PURCHASE TROUBLED ASSETS” (i.e. BAIL OUT BANKING CORPORATIONS)
U.S. Secretary of Treasury Hank Paulson, former Chair and CEO of Goldman Sachs banking corporation, submits on behalf of the Bush Administration legislation to Congress to bail out banking corporations that engaged in risky and bizarre mortgages and investments. The legislation, called the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was a whole 3-pages long. It requested a virtual $700 billion blank check for the Administration. Public outrage was fierce. Calls against the legislation to offices of some Senators and Representatives totaled 100 to 1 against it. The Administration was forced to pull the bill and substitute a new one later. The original TARP bill is at http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/20/news/economy/treasury_proposal/index.htm

2013 – STATEMENT ON CNBC BY BILLIONAIRE STANLEY DRUKENMILLER ON THE FEDERAL RESERVE
The Federal Reserve isn’t just inflating markets but is shifting a massive amount of wealth from the middle class and poor to the rich, according to billionaire hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller.
In an interview on “Squawk Box,” the founder of Duquesne Capital said the Fed’s policy of quantitative easing was inflating stocks and other assets held by wealthy investors like him. But the price of making the rich richer will be paid by future generations.
“This is fantastic for every rich person,” he said Thursday, a day after the Fed’s stunning decision to delay tightening its monetary policy. “This is the biggest redistribution of wealth from the middle class and the poor to the rich ever.”
“Who owns assets—the rich, the billionaires. You think Warren Buffett hates this stuff? You think I hate this stuff? I had a very good day yesterday.”
Druckenmiller, whose net worth is estimated at more than $2 billion, said that the implication of the Fed’s policy is that the rich will spend their wealth and create jobs—essentially betting on “trickle-down economics.”
“I mean, maybe this trickle-down monetary policy that gives money to billionaires and hopefully we go spend it is going to work,” he said. “But it hasn’t worked for five years.”

Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt? Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice. This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini, Deb Jose and Greg Coleridge helped in its development. Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, email monetarycalendar@yahoo.com

1867 – BIRTH OF JP MORGAN, JR, BANKER
Morgan was instrumental is providing financing several nations during World War I, including loans and other financial support to France, England and Russia. Accusations were made that this financial commitment led him to influence the Wilson Administration to enter the war.

2006 – STATEMENT OF NOURIEL ROUBINI, US ECONOMIST
Roubini warns the International Monetary Fund about a coming US housing crash, failures of mortgage-backed securities failures, bank failures, and a major recession. His work was based partly on his study of recent economic crises in Russia (1998), Argentina (2000), Mexico (1994), and Asia (1997). His warnings proved to be correct.

2013 – DEATH OF ALBERT BARTLETT, EMERITUS PROFESSOR OF PHYSICS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER
“The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function.” [Note: Exponential growth requires exponential resources – which are finite. If we have no energy, we have no economy. Also, exponential growth is mandatory under a debt-based money system since exponential natural resources must absolutely be plundered to produce endless stuff to sell to pay off the endless compounding/exponential interest connected to the endless debt. Multiple crashes are inevitable.]

2015 – LABOR DAY IN THE UNITED STATES
Begun by President Cleveland in 1894 as a means to distract attention and break solidarity of US workers from workers around the world that celebrated worker progress and activism on May Day (May 1).
The enactment of the National Emergency Employment Defense (NEED) Act, HR 2990 in the last Congress, would create 7 million jobs. The jobs would focus on repairing our nation’s infrastructure. The debt would not need to be raised. Taxes would not need to be imposed. Funding from any other public program would not have to be shifted. Public creation and circulation of U.S. money is all that would be required. Just as the colonists did when fighting the British. Just as President Lincoln did during the 1860 when creating Greenbacks. Just as economists proposed under the “Chicago Plan” during the 1930’s to President Roosevelt to move the nation out of the Great Depression.
For more information on the NEED Act, go to http://www.monetary.org

SEPTEMBER 8

1999 – DEATH OF HERBERT STEIN, FORMER CHAIRMAN OF PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISORS
“If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.”
[Note: Sounds like our current debt-based money system – an unsustainable system which can only continue if more debt is issued, which happens by banks when they issue loans and purchase treasury bonds, bills and notes]

SEPTEMBER 9

1801 – DEATH OF ROBERT YATES, POLITICIAN AND JUDGE
“I can scarcely contemplate a greater calamity that could befall this country, than be loaded with a debt exceeding their ability ever to discharge. If this be a just remark, it is unwise and improvident to vest in the general government a power to borrow at discretion, without any limitation or restriction.” – Brutus pseudonym, probably Robert Yates

1828 – BIRTH OF LEO TOLSTOY, RUSSIAN WRITER AND SOCIAL REFORMER
“Money is a new form of slavery, and distinguishable from the old simply by the fact that it is impersonal, there is no human relation between master and slave.”

1890 – BIRTH OF MARRINER S. ECCLES, FORMER CHAIRMAN AND GOVERNOR OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
“That is what our money system is. If there were no debts in our money system, there wouldn’t be any money.”

SEPTEMBER 10

2015 — 11TH ANNUAL MONETARY REFORM CONFERENCE, SPONSORED BY THE AMERICAN MONETARY INSTITUTE
The conference brings together some of the world’s most serious advocates of real and achievable monetary reforms. http://www.monetary.org/2015-ami-monetary-reform-conference
“The banking disaster, created and facilitated by false economic and monetary ideas, used by some very bad people, actually poses a real danger to the survival of the species. We must transform the ongoing disaster into an opportunity to achieve real and lasting monetary reforms for mankind. These are the reforms indicated as necessary by decades of study and centuries of experience…
The main cause of the problem is using debt in place of money when the banks make loans, as our present system does. That single error, allowing banks to control our money system, promoted by those really trying to block monetary reform, and by some economics professors trying to keep their salary checks coming, is all it takes to wreck any monetary system, and begin the insane concentration of wealth, into exactly the wrong hands, as we now see in our society! The conference shows why money must be created by our government and spent into circulation on infrastructure, healthcare, and education. The conference highlights recent important moves in that direction by key people, and institutions, around the world.
We have a once in several generations opportunity to fix an obviously flawed money system that is causing so much pain and hardship among a growing section of our people. It is clearly time to fix our monetary and banking system! Come and find out how, and the role you can play in that process.”

SEPTEMBER 11

1857 — STEAMSHIP ‘CENTRAL AMERICA’ HIT BY HURRICANE, SINKS
In the second day of a hurricane, the ship sprang a huge leak. It sank the next day, drowning over 400 passengers and crew. The steamship had a million dollars in gold and silver onboard. It caused the Ohio Life and Trust Company to fail and sparked the Financial Panic of 1857 since money was backed by gold. Under such a metal-based money system, the less gold and silver, the fewer dollars in circulation. The fewer dollars, the less economic transactions occur, resulting in less production and more unemployment.

SEPTEMBER 12

2013 – TALK BY ADAIR TURNER, SENIOR FELLOW, INSTITUTE FOR NEW ECONOMIC THINKING, “CREDIT, MONEY AND LEVERAGE”
“Banks create credit, money and purchasing power. That fact is fundamental to macro-economic dynamics in any economy with a complex banking (or shadow banking) system: and fundamental to both the 2007 – 2008 financial crisis and the depth of the post crisis recession.”

1880 – BIRTH OF H. L. MENCKEN, AMERICAN JOURNALIST
“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace in a continual state of alarm (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing them with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”

SEPTEMBER 13

1785 – PENNSYLVANIA REPEALS THE CHARTER OF THE BANK OF NORTH AMERICA
This was the nation’s first private commercial bank, chartered by Congress under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles gave Congress the power to “emit bills of credit” — to create money. By a single vote, Congress voted to transfer their authority to issue money to the Bank, thus, become a quasi central bank. The Pennsylvania legislature repealed the Bank’s charter, which was significant since it primarily operated in just three states. Why did Congress willingly give up their money power in the first place? The public argument was that the business of finance could not be ably conduced by a public body (Congress) — only by a small number of private financiers.

1873 – NATION’S BIGGEST BANK, JAY COOKE & COMPANY, BECOMES EFFECTIVELY INSOLVENT
Congress had passed the Coinage Act earlier in the year, which ended the minting of silver dollars. US money system was, thus, backed only by gold. The effect was similar to other instances in US history when money was backed by gold — a depression ensued, prices fell, unemployment increased and major banks failed since there wasn’t enough gold to back the money needed to fuel the growing economy. Jay Cooke & Company was the largest bank to fail due to this policy of gold-backed money.

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Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt? Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice. This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini, Deb Jose and Greg Coleridge helped in its development. Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, email monetarycalendar@yahoo.com